Dutton, Cheshire

Weaver Junction is a railway junction connecting the West Coast Main Line (WCML) with the Weaver Junction–Liverpool line, opening on 1 April 1869. Trains bound for Liverpool from London diverge from the WCML at this junction. Weaver Junction is the oldest flying junction in Britain, and also the world.The junction between the main line to Warrington and the north, and the direct line to Runcorn and Liverpool was originally from the date of opening in 1869, a flat junction at Birdswood. The flyover carrying the Liverpool line over the main line at Birdswood was not opened until 13 November 1881. The junction is now located some 0.75 miles (1.21 km) south of its former location and known as Weaver Junction. At initial construction, it avoided the need for both a diamond crossing and a conflict of routes.Its location is strategic and is considered a high importance freight corridor. The Weaver Junction area is classed as congested infrastructure when discussed in Parliament in connection with High Speed 2.

Preston on the Hill is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Preston Brook and the unitary authority area of Halton, in Cheshire, England. It is between the villages of Daresbury 1.5 miles (2.4 km) to the north and Dutton 1.1 miles (1.8 km) to the south. The village comprises the hamlets of Windmill Lane, Waterfront, Cotton's Bridge, Tunnel End North, Tunnel Top and Barker's Hollow as well as several farms including White House, Little Manor, New Manor, Windmill Farm and Humble Bee House.

Preston Brook railway station was a station on the Grand Junction Railway serving the villages of Preston Brook and Preston on the Hill in what was then Cheshire, England. It opened on 4 July 1837 when the line opened.The station is located in a cutting on the south side of the Warrington to Chester turnpike (which is now Chester Road, the A56). The road crossed the railway on an over-bridge, with a ramp down to the station building on the down, western, side of the tracks. Initially there were no platforms and a single storey hipped roof building.By 1898 the station had platforms and the main building on the down platform had been enlarged, this platform was still accessed via a ramp. On the up platform there were some buildings, probably a shelter, and steps down from the road.In the early days there were two mixed trains in each direction, times changed from year to year. The station closed to passengers and parcels on 1 March 1948 but it continued in use for railway workers until 1963. April 1952Goods facilities were a little remote from the station being approximately 500 yards (460 m) south of the station, they consisted of a goods shed and several trans-shipment sidings between the mainline and the associated Manchester Ship Canal Company's Bridgewater siding to the east. The goods yard was equipped for general goods and livestock with a 1½ ton crane. The goods yard closed on 1 September 1958.The line is still open, other than a station house, no substantive remains exist as of 2016.

Preston Brook is a village and civil parish in the borough of Halton, a unitary authority in the ceremonial county of Cheshire in North West England. It is located to the south-east of Runcorn and south-west of Warrington, adjacent to the M56 motorway. The parish includes the village of Preston on the Hill. At the 2011 Census, the parish had a population of 809, up from 716 in 2001. Approximately 3,000 people are employed in the area. Preston Brook has a small industrial park called Abbot's Park, formerly used by the mobile telephone company O2 and Wincanton Logistics, though it is now used by Capita, Marks & Spencer, O2, First Group and Tesco Mobile. The Bridgewater Canal runs from Manchester through Preston Brook where it divides into two branches. One branch leads to Runcorn where it used to join the Manchester Ship Canal, and before that the River Mersey, while the other branch joins the Trent and Mersey Canal at the Preston Brook canal tunnel. The community has a website and a bi-monthly newsletter.

Dutton Horse Bridge is a timber twin-span footbridge across part of the Weaver navigation, near the villages of Acton Bridge and Dutton in Cheshire, England. The bridge is located at SJ 583 767, between the Dutton Locks and Dutton Viaduct. It carries the towpath across a subsidiary channel used to regulate the water level, at the point where it rejoins the main river.The bridge dates from 1915–1919 and is by John Arthur Saner. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II listed building; the listing describes it as "an elegant structure in the functional waterways tradition". The bridge is one of the earliest remaining examples of a laminated timber structure, and is also believed to be the sole laminated greenheart timber bridge in the country.

Dutton Park Farm Nature Reserve is an 18-hectare (44-acre) nature reserve northwest of Weaverham, Cheshire, England. It is managed by the Cheshire Wildlife Trust.It lies below the Grade II* listed Dutton Viaduct and is looked after by the Cheshire Wildlife Trust in partnership with the Woodland Trust. The reserve's many pools and ponds are remnants of the original course of the River Weaver, and the new course of the Weaver now flows past the reserve. Peregrine falcons have been known to use the viaduct as a vantage point, and kestrels and buzzards are regular visitors. The reserve's habitats of wildflower meadows benefit from regular grazing by Longhorn cattle, and the ponds have had their fish removed to allow aquatic wildlife to flourish. The scrub along the reserve fringe supports several summer migrants including whitethroats, sedge warblers, and the grasshopper warbler.

Dutton Locks is a historic lock on the River Weaver in Cheshire, England. The locks are Grade II listed with Historic England. The locks are still in use and form a destination for walkers and cyclists. Dutton Locks is also the name of a hamlet of approximately six residences adjacent to the locks.

Dutton Viaduct is on the West Coast Main Line where it crosses the River Weaver and the Weaver Navigation between the villages of Dutton and Acton Bridge in Cheshire, England (grid reference SJ581764), not far from Dutton Horse Bridge. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a Grade II* listed building. The viaduct was constructed during 1836, and was complete on 9 December of that year. It was the longest viaduct on the Grand Junction Railway (GJR). The viaduct was built at a cost of £54,440 (equivalent to £5,450,000 in 2021). The engineers were Joseph Locke and George Stephenson, and William Mackenzie was its contractor.Since entering use in July 1837, Dutton Viaduct has remained in regular use. During its operating life, it has been subject to change; during the 1960s, the line was electrified overhead lines and supporting metalwork were installed across its length and its line speed was increased to 125 miles per hour (200 km/h) in the West Coast Main Line route modernisation programme. It became a listed structure in the early 1990s.

Aston (or Aston-by-Sutton) is a village and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 111, reducing slightly to 106 at the 2011 census. The village is just outside the Runcorn urban area. St Peter's Church is a Grade I listed building.Aston was the seat of the Aston baronets of the County of Chester (baronetcy created 1628, extinct 1815).

Crewood Hall is a country house to the northeast of the village of Kingsley, Cheshire, England. It dates from the 16th century, and has a porch dated 1638. Initially timber-framed, the building was encased in brick and remodelled in the 19th century. It has stone dressings and tiled roofs, and is in two storeys. The house consists of a hall with two cross wings and a two-storey porch at the end of the left wing. The lower storey of the porch is in sandstone and in the upper storey the timber-framing is exposed. The house is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II* listed building. Associated with the house, and also listed at Grade II, are two farm buildings; stables, and a shippon and barn.

St Peter's Church is in the small hamlet of Aston-by-Sutton, Cheshire near to the town of Runcorn. The church is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade I listed building. It is an active Anglican parish church in the diocese of Chester, the archdeaconry of Chester and the deanery of Great Budworth. It is one of three parish churches in the parish of Aston-by-Sutton, Little Leigh and Lower Whitley. The other two being St Michael and All Angels, Little Leigh and St Luke, Lower Whitley. The three were previously individual parishes united in a benefice along with St Mark, Antrobus. The listing describes it as "a most pleasing late 17th to early 18th-century church, inside and out". The church stands in a relatively isolated position in the south side of Aston Lane in the hamlet.

Daresbury Hall is a former Georgian country house in the village of Daresbury, Cheshire, England. It was built in 1759 for George Heron. The house is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II* listed building. The mansion was badly damaged by fire in 2016.